Sinister straw effigies are terrifying cyclists and walkers after being hung from trees by the neck.

The eerie figures sprung up in the past week - sparking voodoo fears among some.

Several were erected along the Comber Greenway, close to Dundonald Ice Bowl.

Calls have been made for them to be taken down after spooking passers-by.

Gareth Wright, who runs the Comber Greenway Facebook page, told Belfast Live: “It started just before Halloween. The first report was of these strange dolls hanging from a tree with rope round the necks.

“It was one of the weirdest things we have come across. We get some weird things but this is the weirdest of the lot. We’ve no idea where they came from.”

Regular patrols take place along the walkway but as yet mystery surrounds the reason for the effigies and the identities of those behind them.

The seven-mile Greenway, part of the National Cycle Network, runs from Belfast to Comber along an old railway line shut in 1950.